Label applying mechanism



April 27, 1937. N. KRAFT LABEL APPLYING MECHANISM 3 Sheet-Sheet 1 Filed Dec. 26, 1955 fizz/072507 l or'fizan/ Kraft W 0 QM W5.

April 27, 1937.

N. KRAFT LABEL APPLYING MECHANISM Filed Dec. 26, 1935 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 April 27, 1937. N. KRAFT LABEL APPLYING MECHANISM 5 Sheets-Sheet 5 Filed. Dec. 26, 1935 I iii/am I l/brvm Era/15 Patented Apr. 27, 1937 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFIQE LABEL APPLYING MECHANISM Application December 26, 1935, Serial No. 56,189

13 Claims.

This invention relates to improvements in label-applying mechanisms and refers more particularly to mechanism designed for applying a label to the inside of the cover flap of a container.

For the purpose of this application, the word label is used with reference to any insert which it is desired to apply to the inside of a container cover flap. For example, in connection with the marketing of certain food products which are dispensed in folding paper board boxes, some manufacturers consider it advantageous to offer premiums, give recipes (in connection with food products), or to give special instructions pertaining to the product content in the package. It is not always desirable to include such data on the outside wrapper or main label of the package and in such instances it has been found expedient to apply a special sticker to the inside of the container cover flap. While such a sticker does not necessarily contain data identifying the product or its manufacturer and in this sense is not a label, the sticker may nevertheless be referred to as a label for the reason that it is r a separate element in the nature of a label applied to the main paper board box structure.

The main objects of the invention are to provide a simple form of mechanism for applying labels such as above referred to, to the inside of the cover flap of a paper box; to provide such a mechanism in which adhesive employed for at taching the labels is so handled as to avoid gumming up of the mechanism and so as to avoid soiling of the containers passing through the mechanism; to provide mechanism which will accurately position the labels on the container flap or other portion; and in general, it is the object of the invention to provide an improved, 40 automatic mechanism for the purpose indicated.

Other objects and advantages of the invention will be understood by reference to the following specification and accompanying drawings (3 sheets) wherein there is illustrated an improved mechanism for applying labels to the inside of the cover flap of a paper board container.

In the drawings:

Fig. 1 is a plan of a portion of a container filling and closing machine to which the present improvements have been applied.

Fig. 2 is a section on the line 2'--2 of Fig. 1.

Fig. 3 is a section on the line 33 of Fig. 1.

Fig. 4 is a section similar to Fig. 3, but showing the parts in a changed position.

Fig. 5 is a section on the line 5--5 of Fig. 1, and

Fig. 6 is a perspective showing a container to which a label has been applied by the mechanism herein contemplated.

Referring now to the drawings, there is illustrated in Fig. 1 an intermittently driven conveyor l0 which is in the form of .a chain, the same being supported by suitable sprockets (not shown), and suitably driven with an intermittent or step-bystep movement. Inasmuch as means for so driving conveyors are well known to those skilled in the art, the same is not herein illustrated.

The conveyor IE is located intermediate guides H and 62 which are preferably in the form of angle irons respectively supported by elongated straps or plates [3 and Hi. The elongated straps l3 and M are supported by suitable framework not herein illustrated. The conveyor l0 includes links in properly spaced relation provided with upstanding ears or lugs RE which are adapted to engage the rearward end of a container so as to propel the latter along the tracks I3 and I 4 between the guides H and I2. Adjacent one side of the conveyor structure, there is provided a supporting plate Hi, the latter being suitably supported by brackets or arms connected with main frame-Work of the machine, which framework is not herein illustrated.

Paper board containers of the folding type designated I! are received by the conveyor structure at an appropriate place and they include top 0 closing flaps designated l8, l9 and 2B, the latter being provided with a front marginal extension 2| which is adapted to be tucked between the front wall of the container and the content therei substantially impervious wrap for the cheese, it a being understood of course that the metal foil is properly shaped and folded around the cheese.

In Fig. 6, the cover forming flap 2!] of the container is illustrated as having a label 23 attached to its inside face by means of the glue stripes 24.

The packages I! are received and propelled in an endwise direction by the conveyor l0 and to facilitate application of the label 23, the cover flap 20 is turned to an open position in which it extends s'ubstantially horizontally from the con tainer H. During the normal progress of the container along the conveyor structure, the flaps l8, l9 and 25 extend upwardly and usually outwardly to a limited extent.

For the purpose of turning the flap 25 to the above mentioned, substantially horizontal open position, there is provided a fiap turning and holding rail 25 which is connected by suitable brackets such as indicated at 25 to the support 1'6. At its front end, the rail 25 is disposed in upwardly spaced relation to the support l6 and at an inclined transverse angle so that it is operative to engage the inside of the cover flap 25 of a container as the latter approaches said rail. Continued forward movement of the container causes said flap 25 to ride under said rail and to be thereby gradually turned outwardly and downwardly to substantially horizontal position, in which it is in engagement with the top surface of the support It.

Suitable adhesive material is applied to the inside surface of the .cover fiap when the latter is in said outwardly extending horizontal position. For applying adhesive material, there is provided a roller 21 having raised annular surfaces 28 which are adapted to receive a coating of glue or other adhesive material from an adhesive carrying roll 29. The adhesive roll 29 rotates through a bath of adhesive liquid in a suitable receptacle 3!] and transfers the adhesive liquid to the annular ribs 28 of the glue applying roll as an incident to movement of the latter transversely of the carrying roll 29.

For moving the gluing roll 27 transversely of the glue-carrying roll 25, there are provided pivotally connected arms 3| and 32 of which the latter is pivoted as indicated at 33 on a stationary frame or bracket portion designated 34. At the free end of the arm 33 there is provided a guide wheel 35, the same being pivoted to the arm 3| as indicated at 36, and adapted to ride on a curved track 37 which is connected at its front end to the supporting plate H6. The gluing roll 21 is rotatably mounted on a spindle 38 carried by a short arm 39 which in turn is pivotally and laterally adjustably mounted in the free end of the arm 3!. The adjustable mounting of the arm 39 in the arm 3| is most clearly illustrated in Fig. 2, wherein it will be seen that the arm 39 is provided with a laterally projecting shaft 50 which is rotatably and axially slidably mounted in a suitable opening provided in the free end of the arm 3|. A set screw 41 serves to lock the arm 39 in adjusted position.

The arms 3i and 32 are controlled by means of a rotary cam 42 carried by a suitably driven shaft 43 which also carries the glue-carrying roll 29. The cam 52 is adapted to act against a cam roller M which projects from one side of an arm 45 which is pivoted at one end as indicated at 46 to the arm 32. The other end of the arm 55 is forked and designed to straddle and be guided by the shaft 43. A'coil spring 47 is stretched be tween the pivotal connection 48 of the links 3! and 32 and an anchor pin 55 which is carried by the frame part 34. It will be seen that the spring 4? acts to maintain the cam roller 44 in engagement with the cam 52 so that the reciprocation of the cam roller incident to the rotation of the cam 42 will be at all times imparted to the links 3| and 32.

Under normal conditions, that is when a container is in place and a cover flap 20 on the support 56 in the path of movement of the gluing roll 27, the latter is caused to traverse the exposed or inside face of such cover fiap. The position of the parts during the application of adhesive by the gluing roller 27 to the cover flap 20 is shown in full lines in Fig. 4, it being understood that the guide member 3'! is so shaped that the gluing roller 21 will clear the guide rail 25 and be deposited on the container cover substantially at the point illustrated in Fig. 4. Further forward movement of the gluing roller 21 as permitted by the cam 42 and effected by the spring 41 will, of course, cause said gluing roller to roll across the face of the cover flap 20 and thereby apply stripes of adhesive material as indicated at 2d in Fig. 6.

It sometimes happens that a defective container or an improperly filled container is removed from the conveyor structure thereby leaving a blank space. To prevent the gluing roller 21 from applying adhesive to the supporting member 96, means is provided for holding the gluing roller in an elevated position during its normal movement transversely of the support. The means referred to is best shown in Figs. 1, 3 and 4, and consists in a bell crank lever 50 which is pivoted to the bottom of the support l6 as indicated at 5 l A long arm 52 of the bell crank is normally urged by a spring 53 into the path of movement of the packages on the conveyor. The other arm of the bell crank is provided with a finger 54. Under normal circumstances a container I1 engages the arm 52 of the bell crank and holds the bell crank in such position that the finger 54 thereof is in inoperative position. When, however, there is an empty space on the conveyor, the arm 52 is permitted to be swung laterally by the spring 53, whereby the finger 55 is moved into a position in the path of movement of the pivoted arm 3|. The forward movement of the arm 31 is not interrupted by the finger 54, but the arm is caused to ride upwardly over the finger 54 as indicated in dotted lines in Fig. 4, so as to thereby maintain the glue roller 21 in elevated position out of contact with the support l5. Hence the glue roller mechanism is actuated through its usual movement even when there is no container to receive glue from the roller 21.

The gluing operation is effected during a period of rest of the conveyor and the containers thereon, and during such period of rest a label is applied to the glued surface of the container cover flap.

The label-applying mechanism includes a label magazine comprising pairs of side and end bars 55 which form skeleton side walls of a magazine for containing a stack of labels 23. The bottom ends of the bars 55 are provided with inturned portions or toes 56 which extend inwardly sulficiently to afford the necessary support for the stack of labels. Except for such inturned portions 55 the bottom of the magazine formed by the bars 55 is open to permit discharge or withdrawal of the labels from the bottom end of the magazine.

The bars 55 forming the magazine are carried by a suitable frame element 5'! which is provided at its rear end with a vertically elongated bracket part 58. There are upper and lower pairs of parallel links 59 and 68, respectively, each having ends pivoted to the upper and lower end of said bracket 58 and their opposite ends pivoted to a stationary post or bracket 6 i This mounting for the magazine permits the latter to be moved vertically and somewhat laterally toward and from the support I6 while always maintaining the bottom of the magazine, i. e., the portions 56 thereof, in a substantially horizontal plane. For

effecting movement or the magazine, the shaft 43 is provided with a cam 62 which is adapted to act against a cam roller 63 carried by the arm 60. It will be evident that rotation of the cam 62 Will impart the above mentioned movement to the magazine. The cam is of such size that it will permit the magazine to be lowered sufiiciently to cause the lowermost label therein to be impacted against the inside of the closure flap 26 of the container, which flap has theretofore been provided with glue stripes as already explained. Upon upward movement of the magazine, the lowermost label therein will be held to the container flap by reason of the adhesive material and will thereby be withdrawn from the magazine. The downward movement of the magazine is a quick movement so that the lowermost flap is subjected to the momentum of the stack of labels above it whereby the lowermost label is effectively pressed against the adhesive contained surface of the container flap.

I To properly center the container and its closure flap 2!! so as to secure proper positioning or centering of the label thereon, there is provided an arm 64 which is supported at one end by means of a pivotal connection 65 with a rock arm 66, the latter being supported by means of its pivotal connection indicated at 67 with a frame supported bracket 68. The arm 64 is supported adjacent its other end by means of a guide wire 69 which is secured to the arm 64 and which slides through a suitable opening in a bracket 10, the latter being secured to the table I 6; The arm 64 is provided with a hook portion H which is adapted to engage rearward end of a container. The rock lever 66 is actuated by means of a rotary disk 12 having a cam hump l3 thereon. During each rotation of the cam disk 72, the rock arm 66 is caused to rock on its pivot 61, thereby pulling the hook arm 64 forwardly. The extent of such movement of the hook arm 64 is, of course, properly proportioned by the cam hump 73 or, if desired, adjustments may be provided in respect of the pivotal mounting 61 or the pivotal connection 65, whereby the extent of said movement may be regulated. Upon rearward movement of the hook arm 64, the inclined rear end surface thereof is operative to guide said rear end inwardly over the side of the container, this being permitted by the flexibility of the guide wire 69 and the pivot mounting 65 of the arm 64. The flexibility of the guide wire 69 may serve in some measure to restore the hook H to position for engaging the rear end of the container, but it is preferred that a spring 14 be connected between an extension of the arm 64 and the rock lever 66 to more effectively cause the hook end H to move into operative position.

After the label has been applied to the inside of the container flap as above explained, the conveyor structure carries the container through mechanism which operates to fold the end flaps l8 and I9 inwardly over the top of the container and then to fold the cover flap 20 inwardly and downwardly across the flaps l8 and I9 and to tuck the flap portion 2| between the front wall of the container and its content.

The shaft 43 may be driven in any suitable manner, for example, by means of a chain drive indicated at 15, but the drive should, of course, be at a speed which is properly synchronized with the speed of the conveyor II]. If desired, an auxiliary roll 16 may be associated with the gluecarrying roll 29 for the purpose of carrying the adhesive from lower portions of the receptacle 30 and for the purpose of insuring a smooth coatmg of uniform thickness on the carrying roll 29. The mechanism described is comparatively simple in its construction but is efiicient and durable in operation. There are no complicated or expensive parts to manufacture and all of the mechanism may be conveniently attached to a more or less standardized form of mechanism for closing containers of the type referred to.

Changes in the described construction may be made without departing from the spirit of the invention, the scope of which should be determined by reference to the following claims, the same being construed as broadly as possible consistent with the state of the art.

I claim:

1. In a machine of the class described, the combination of means for propelling a container having a flap projecting therefrom, means for folding said flap to open position incident to the movement of the container by said propelling means, and means for attaching a label to the inside of said flap when in said open position.

2. In a machine of the class described, the combination of means for intermittently advancing a container having a flap projecting therefrom, means for turning said flap to open position as an incident to the advancing movement of the container, and means operable during a period of rest of the container to attach a label to the inside of said flap when in said open position.

3. In a machine of the class described, the combination of means for propelling a container having a flap projecting therefrom, means for turning said. flap to open position as an incident to movement of the container, and means for adhesively attaching a label to the inside of said flap when in said open position.

4. In a machine of the class described, the combination of means for supporting and propelling a container having a flap projecting therefrom, means for turning said flap to predetermined open position, means for supporting and maintaining said flap in such open position, means for applying adhesive to the inside of said flap when in said open position, and means for applying a, label to the adhesive coated area of said flap to thereby adhesively attach such label to the inside of said fiap.

' 5. In a machine of the class described, the

combination of means for propelling a container having a flap projecting therefrom, means for turning said flap to predetermined open position, a support for said flap in such open position, adhesive-applying means movable over said flap and in contact therewith to apply adhesive thereto, and container controlled means for preventing contact of said adhesive-applying means with said flap support in the absence of a container and flap.

6. In a machine of the class described, the combination of means for propelling a container having a flap projecting therefrom, means for turning said flap to predetermined open position, a support for said flap in such open position, adhesive-applying means movable over said flap and in contact therewith to apply adhesive thereto, container controlled means for preventing contact of said adhesive-applying means with said flap support in the absence of a container and flap, and a movable label carrier adapted to deposit a label on the adhesivecoated area of said flap.

7. In a machine of the class described, the combination of means for propelling a container having a flap projecting therefrom, means for turning said flap to predetermined open position, means for supporting said flap in said open position, and a movable label carrier adapted tobe 5 moved toward and from the inside of said flap when in said open position to deposit a label thereon.

8. In a machine of the class described, the combination of means for propelling a container ll) having a flap projecting therefrom, means for turning said flap to predetermined open position, a support for said flap when in said open position, means for applying adhesive to the inside of said flap when in said open position, a movable label magazine having a bottom opening through which labels are adapted to be discharged, and means for moving said magazine toward and from said flap to effect contact between the lowermost label therein and the adhesively coated inside surface of said flap, whereby the lowermost label in the magazine is adhesively attached to said flap and thereby withdrawn from the magazine as an incident to movement of the magazine away from said flap. 9. In a machine of the class described, the combination of means for propelling a container having a flap projecting therefrom, means for turning said flap to predetermined open position, means for supporting said flap in such open position, means for applying an adhesive coating to the inside of said flap, a label magazine having an open bottom for permitting removal of labels from the bottom of the magazine, means for movably supporting said magazine, means for effecting movement of said magazine toward and from the adhesive coated portion of said flap and operative to effect contacting of the lowermost label in the magazine with said adhesive coating, whereby when the magazine is moved away from said flap, the lowermost label is withdrawn from the magazine, and means for adjusting said container in the direction of its travel to predetermined position relative to said label magazine to thereby eflect accurate predetermined disposition of the label on said flap.

10. In a machine of the class described, the combination of means for propelling a container having a flap projecting therefrom, means for turning said flap to predetermined open position, means for supporting said flap in such open position, means for applying an adhesive coating to the inside of said flap, a label magazine having an open bottom for permitting removal of labels from the bottom of the magazine, means for movably supporting said magazine, means for efiecting movement of said magazine toward and from the adhesive coated portion of said flap and operative to efiect contacting of the lowermost label in the magazine with said adhesive coating, whereby when the magazine is moved away from said flap, the lowermost label is withdrawn from the magazine, and cam-actuated means for adjusting said container in the-direction of its travel to predetermined position relative to said label magazine to thereby effect accurate predetermined disposition of the label on said flap.

11. In a machine of the class described, a support for a container portion adapted to have a label applied thereto, and a label magazine adapted to carry a supply of labels toward and from said container portion and to deposit the lowermost label in the magazine on said container portion, and means for mounting said magazine for said movement comprising parallel links respectively pivoted at one end on a stationary support and having their other ends pivoted in said magazine.

12. In a machine of the class described, a support for a container portion adapted to have a label applied thereto, and a label magazine adapted to carry a supply of labels toward and from said container portion and to deposit the lowermost label in the magazine on said container portion, and means for mounting said magazine for said movement comprising parallel links respectively pivoted at one end on a stationary support and having their other ends pivoted in said magazine, and cam means acting on one of said parallel links to effect said movement of the magazine.

13. In a machine of the class described, the combination of means for propelling a container having a flap projecting upwardly from a wall of the container, means operative to fold such flap to a substantially horizontal position with its inside face up, and means for attaching a label to the inside face of said flap while in said horizontal position.

NORMAN KRAFT. 

